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8th May 2006 Archive

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  • Wanadooproblems.co.uk to rebrand

    Say hello to Orangeproblems.co.uk

    Wanadoo Problems - the forum set up in desperation by a punter who was left without broadband for weeks on end after a bodged LLU upgrade - is to change its name. Instead of wanadooproblems.co.uk, the site will change its name to orangeproblems.co.uk - an amazing coincidence because Wanadoo is to ditch its brand at the end of …

    Telecoms 8 May 2006, 08:02

  • Finance directors are the real deal-killers

    Quocirca's changing channels The make or break of IT investment decisions

    The fact that most businesses value IT, as shown in a recent Quocirca survey, will not come as a surprise to many. For many it is considered an integral part of their operations. So, neither is it surprising that businesses take major IT investment decisions pretty seriously as well. This has always been the challenge for those …

    IT Director 8 May 2006, 08:53

  • Yahoo! upgrades ads

    Joins Google, MSN

    Yahoo! will release details of its upgraded ads system today, as it prepares to up its game against Microsoft and Google. The new system is expected to offer better keyword searches, improved tracking for advertisers and support for video and sound ads. The position of adverts will be decided by several different measures …

    Applications 8 May 2006, 08:53

  • UFOs don't exist, says secret UK report

    'Natural physical forces'

    Bad news today for UK UFO-spotters: that interdimensional alien mothership you spotted one night in Basingstoke while out walking the dog was probably ball lightning, or something equally terrestrial. That's the conclusion of a secret 2000 MOD report which has been dragged from the X-Files by a freedom of information request …

    Space 8 May 2006, 09:00

  • The 'free' fairy story

    Comment 'Unlimited' broadband? Yeah right.

    If you believe advertisements, you can now get unlimited broadband for a couple of hundred pounds a year. Do you believe? Here's the truth: Anybody who really thinks Freeserve was free, will probably believe that TalkTalk broadband will be free "forever" too. It isn't unlimited, and it isn't free forever. You get what you pay …

    Telecoms 8 May 2006, 09:16

  • Google Health is coming

    Hypochondriacs ahoy!

    Given that Google is already the first stop for hypochondriacs, or anyone else seeking info on an illness, the search giant's move into health information could be a winner. Google Health will offer targeted search for sickies. Predicted to launch later this week the search can be refined and results put into categories like " …

    Applications 8 May 2006, 09:23

  • Apple beats Beatles

    Apple vs Apple High Court dismisses breach-of-agreement claim

    Beatles recording company Apple Corporation has failed to persuade the English High Court that Apple Computer's iTunes Music Service is a violation of a 1991 deal struck by the two companies to define their respective business domains. This morning, Mr Justice Anthony Mann ruled that the apple logo governed by the agreement …

    Reg Hardware 8 May 2006, 10:03

  • Vodafone slashes European roaming charges

    Pre-empts EU action

    Vodafone took PR action to keep itself out of EC commissioner Vivian Reding's sights, by promising to "cut roaming by 40 per cent" by this time next year. Vodafone's announcement says: "Average European roaming costs for Vodafone customers will be cut by at least 40 per cent by April 2007, when compared to last summer." This, …

    Mobile 8 May 2006, 10:04

  • LogicaCMG clinches ESA satellite security deal

    Looking for Euro subs

    LogicaCMG is sniffing out subcontractors to help it service a €20m contract to develop a security management system for the European Space Agency’s Galileo satellite navigation system. The services vendor has secured three contracts covering: the Public Regulated Services Key Management Facility; the Mission key Management …

    Channel Register 8 May 2006, 10:09

  • Multigig intros literally revolutionary chip clock

    Rotary wave technology

    Chip technology developer Multigig came out of hiding today to announce what it claims is a major breakthrough in the design of microprocessor clock circuitry: a rotary oscillator that, the company maintains, delivers "extremely precise, high-resolution, low-noise timing signals" and does so by consuming "far less power than is …

    Reg Hardware 8 May 2006, 10:14

  • NTL to wipe out 6,000 jobs

    Cableco mum on reports

    NTL has not denied weekend press reports that it's about to chop some 6,000 jobs as it seeks to make cash savings of £250m a year. Reports claim that a third of the firm's estimated 17,000 workforce is to be stripped out, with call centres likely to be closed down and jobs outsourced overseas. The number of engineers is also …

    Financial News 8 May 2006, 10:16

  • Trojan targets World of Warcraft gamers

    Malware snaffles virtual booty

    Security watchers have discovered a Trojan that's designed to steal user names and passwords from World of Warcraft players. Wowcraft, which also attempts to disable security software packages on compromised PCs, has been planted on maliciously constructed websites. Unprotected Windows users visiting these sites can get …

    Malware 8 May 2006, 10:22

  • Scots set shared service target

    Could save up to £750m a year

    The Scottish minister for finance and public service reform has forecast savings of between £250m and £750m per year across the public sector. Tom McCabe made the forecast to mark the publication of a consultation on the shared services strategy, A shared approach to building a better Scotland. He said sharing corporate …

    Public Sector 8 May 2006, 10:25

  • EMC speeds towards the middle ground

    4Gb/s Clariion call

    Storage monolith EMC has juiced up its midrange Clariion series with fiber channel support up to 4Gb/s. EMC says the new Clariion UltraScale architecture will double the performance and capacity of its predecessor. It's the first to offer full 4Gb/s fibre channel support, for up to 230TB of scalable storage. Firms will be able …

    Storage 8 May 2006, 10:37

  • For sale: ICBM silo, one careful owner

    Gimme shelter, US style

    Wannabe Ernst Stavro Blofelds who are currently still living with their parents rather than in the vast underground complex manned by boilersuited lackeys which befits their plans for world domination are directed to eBay where a rather tasty former ICBM silo complex has come up for sale: Located about 1 1/2 hrs from Spokane, …

    Bootnotes 8 May 2006, 10:39

  • Intel to call 'Conroe' and 'Merom' Core 2

    Core blimey...

    Intel's upcoming next-generation architecture processors 'Conroe' and 'Merom' will be branded 'Core 2 Duo', online reports allege. The gamer-friendly version of Conroe will ship as the 'Core 2 Extreme'. The claim, made by Reuters yesterday, was not confirmed with official comment, but the presence of chip logos in other …

    Reg Hardware 8 May 2006, 10:42

  • McAfee in reseller services push

    More to life than shrink-wrap

    McAfee is to look to resellers as an alternative to developing its professional services business. McAfee's Authorised Partner Solutions Services program, announced at a McAfee conference last week and due to start later this year, is designed to help the firm's channel partners move from simply shifting shrink-wrapped boxes of …

    Channel Register 8 May 2006, 10:59

  • Warner faces 14 download overcharging cases

    Stock exchange filing

    Documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday reveal that Warner Music Group is facing 14 separate legal actions relating to the pricing of downloads. In December last year and February this year the company received requests for information from New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. In late February …

    Financial News 8 May 2006, 11:06

  • Samsung, MS to demo Flash-fitted HDD - again

    Ready to ship, just waiting on Vista

    Samsung and Microsoft first demonstrated a hard drive containing Flash memory as well as magnetic storage just over a year ago, and next month the pair will show the technology again, this time in a form that they claim will be ready to come to market. Once again, the system will be demo'd at WinHEC, which this year kicks off …

    Reg Hardware 8 May 2006, 11:07

  • MS urges Brits to stone software pirates

    Death to illegal software suppliers

    We all know that software pirates and those who distribute illicit copies of top-notch applications are threatening to undermine the very foundations on which western democracy stands. Sadly, in the UK at least, if caught they stand to get little more than a fine and a slap on the wrist - a far cry from the days when you could …

    IT Director 8 May 2006, 11:24

  • HTC launches, renames 'Star Trek'

    Vowels dropped SMS-style

    HTC today launched its slimline 'Star Trek' clamshell smart phone, as we reported last month, though the handset is not due to ship in the UK until late June, the company admitted. The phone will indeed arrive in the UK as the QTek 8500, though HTC is now calling the handset the STRTrk, presumably to avoid any trademark …

    Reg Hardware 8 May 2006, 11:41

  • 'QualSoft' the next force in the mobile multimedia battle?

    Analysis MS and Qualcomm join forces to challenge Nokia

    Qualcomm's last major venture with Microsoft was Wireless Knowledge, a failed foray into mobile enterprise email that nevertheless highlighted the companies' ability to think ahead of major wireless trends. The two giants' new collaboration is more ambitious and has far greater disruptive potential, offering a tightly …

    Mobile 8 May 2006, 11:47

  • Northern Ireland IT spending on the up

    Experiencing 'good growth'

    IT spending in Northern Ireland is growing, according to analyst IDC. Researchers say the total spending on IT in 2005 reached £658m. Government spending accounted for 70 per cent, with the rest coming from the private sector. Looking ahead, IDC expects IT spending to experience "good growth", reaching £877m in 2010. IDC …

    Channel Register 8 May 2006, 12:06

  • Colorware paints up MacBook Pro

    Lamborghini yellow or Ferrari red, anyone?

    US PC painter Colorware has begun offering Mac fans the chance to buy Apple's 15.4in MacBook Pro in one of almost two dozen metallic and non-metallic hues. But the process doesn't come cheap, adding around $650 to the aluminium-clad notebook's base price. Still, it's the only way consumers are likely to be able to get a Mac …

    Reg Hardware 8 May 2006, 12:07

  • O2 eyes UK shores for fixed-mobile convergence

    Looks to piggyback on Genion success

    Fixed/mobile convergence (FMC) was long considered primarily of benefit to the wireline carriers, enabling them to bundle wireless services and devices in order to improve customer retention and generate greater value from their expensive wireline networks. However, predominantly wireless companies such as Sprint Nextel, …

    Mobile 8 May 2006, 12:23

  • 3 to broadcast footy World Cup highlights

    Soccer on the very small screen

    Footy fans unable to get to a TV when the World Cup kicks off next month can catch up with all the action on their mobile phone. Well, that is if they're not on crutches, suffering from food poisoning, and subscribe to UK 3G cellco "3". That's cause "3", has won non-exclusive mobile broadcast rights in the UK and Ireland for …

    Mobile 8 May 2006, 12:26

  • Reg launches 'Entertainment' section

    Film, TV and celeb-related nonsense

    It is with a loud unfurling of the red carpet that we at El Reg today announce the creation of a new Entertainment section - into which all TV, film and celebrity-related witterings will now be dispatched. And before the purists among you start banging on about non-IT stuff threatening to undermine our world-beating coverage of …

    Entertainment 8 May 2006, 12:27

  • Silicon Graphics goes titsup

    Seeks Chapter 11 shield

    Silicon Graphics, the incredible shrinking workstation maker, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to news wires. In court papers filed today, SGI said it had been "challenged by delays in introducing new technology, a focus on more specialised markets and more intense competition from larger rivals", Reuters reports …

    Financial News 8 May 2006, 12:31

  • Japan and NASA team up for SuperConcorde

    Scramjet up the JAXA

    Japan's space agency JAXA has confirmed it will start full-scale development of a passenger plane based on scramjet technology. The Japanese are courting NASA's collaboration on the project, which could bear some hypersonic fruit by 2025. The two agencies will meet this June to discuss how to build the heir to Concorde, …

    Space 8 May 2006, 12:43

  • Beatles' label to appeal against High Court verdict

    Apple vs Apple Judge got it wrong, music company claims

    Apple Corporation has confirmed it will appeal against today's English High Court verdict favouring Apple Computer. The Beatles-owned company clearly doesn't agree with Apple Comp. CEO Steve Jobs that the "disagreement" should now be "put behind" the two companies. Mr Justice Anthony Mann this morning ruled that Apple Comp. …

    Reg Hardware 8 May 2006, 12:59

  • Trojans are the New Model Army

    Virus writers ride into sunset on Penny Farthing

    Amateur virus writers are going the way of amateur athletes, morris dancing and the May Pole, according to a survey by Panda Software. Seventy per cent of malware detected by the developer’s scanning service in the first quarter had a cybercrime or financial motive. Forty per cent of malware detected was spyware, the firm said …

    Malware 8 May 2006, 13:19

  • Shell suspends Chip and PIN after £1m fraud

    Temporary precaution

    Shell has stopped accepting payments authorised by Chip and PIN at 600 of 1,000 UK petrol stations following the discovery of a systematic fraud that resulted in the theft of an estimated £1m from customer accounts. Eight unnamed people have been arrested in the UK on suspicion of involvement in the scam, the BBC reports. The …

    ID 8 May 2006, 13:27

  • Transact a bit of service business

    Comment Getting transaction rabble in order

    The big weak-point of just about any trading in a loosely-coupled, composite-application, service-based environment is the ongoing lack of sound transaction management systems. The closely contained world of the archetypal Transaction Management system – where all transactions have readily definable start and end points and the …

    Servers 8 May 2006, 13:29

  • AOL Europe beefs up web content

    Eyes up increased ad revs

    AOL is looking to expand its business in Europe by opening up its content and applications to all net users. As part of this strategy the firm will be updating its portals in the UK, France and Germany next month to include an even greater spread of content. It's a departure from last summer, for example, when visitors to AOL. …

    Telecoms 8 May 2006, 14:11

  • Premiership Excel virus debuts after season concludes

    Tardy Excel pathogen misses final whistle

    A new low-risk virus that infects poses as a fantasy football worksheet as a ruse designed to trick Windows into becoming infected is spreading across the net. Yagnuul-A is an Excel formula virus that infects .XLS spreadsheets before dropping an infected file on user's hard discs. Yagnuul's arrival comes a day after the …

    Malware 8 May 2006, 14:24

  • Samsung demos world's skinniest phone

    Waistline under 7mm

    Samsung today unveiled what it claims is the thinnest mobile phone yet made and said it pans plans to ship the skinny device in China and Europe later this month. At 6.9mm, the phone is even skinnier than Motorola's 11.5mm SLVR. The SGH-X820 weighs a mere 66g and packs in Bluetooth and a two-megapixel camera. Samsung didn't …

    Reg Hardware 8 May 2006, 14:34

  • Defenceless China hit by rebranding madness

    LogoWatch Joss-sticks and whalesong in Shenzhen

    Back in 2004, the world suffered a terrifying outbreak of rebranding madness which saw otherwise sane people succumb to the effects of Strategy Boutique hocus pocus and whalesong-driven Powerpoint presentations which convinced them that in return for parting with a large suitcase full of cash, their revised brand frontage would …

    Bootnotes 8 May 2006, 15:00

  • Samsung phone sported Mac OS X graphics

    Manufacturer admits mistakes made

    Samsung has admitted it made "a few mistakes" when it shipped a mobile phone into the Korean market with a graphical user interface that contained Mac OS X desktop wallpapers and icons for applications like TextEdit, Sherlock, and Stickies. Microsoft's MSN Messenger icon was used too. According to a Korea Times report, the …

    Reg Hardware 8 May 2006, 15:09

  • 3 Italy faces porn probe

    TV exposé shows kids downloading smut

    3 Italia is being investigated by the Italian communications ministry after a TV exposé showed children downloading dodgy content. The porn probe is targeting video content streamed to mobile phones. The ministry also suggested the Italian judiciary might look at closer regulation for mobile services. 3 Italia said in a …

    Mobile 8 May 2006, 15:11

  • Lottery site delays deadline

    Flakey website forces extension

    New lottery game Play Monday has extended the deadline for its first draw because of problems keeping its website up and running this afternoon. Problems got so bad the company has extended the deadline for buying tickets from 8pm this evening to midnight. A spokesman for Play Monday told The Reg: "There have been problems, we …

    Financial News 8 May 2006, 15:47

  • VMD to hit US with '100 titles'

    Blu who?

    Versatile Multilayer Disc (VMD), one of the lesser-known formats jostling to become the successor to DVD, will launch in the US later this year with the release of more than 100 titles, the company behind the technology pledged today. To indicate the VMD's support among the major Hollywood studios, New Media Enterprises (NME) …

    Reg Hardware 8 May 2006, 16:30

  • Dell lowers Q1 revenue and investor confidence

    Cutting prices for a brighter tomorrow

    Dell today cut its first quarter revenue forecast, and pledged that price cuts would revive sales. Dell now expects first quarter revenue to come in at $14.2bn, which is at the lowest possible end of a previous forecast of between $14.2bn and $14.6bn in revenue. The earnings miss comes as a result of price cuts that will " …

    Financial News 8 May 2006, 21:09